Spurs notebook: Hitting the road on a roll

MILWAUKEE — The Spurs wouldn’t mind opening the new calendar year the same way they closed the last one.

Heading into a 2013-opening, two-game road trip beginning tonight in Milwaukee and finishing Thursday in New York, the Spurs have won a season-best six in a row, with most of those wins coming in dominating fashion.

Over the span of their streak, the Spurs have averaged 110.8 points per game, surrendered 90 and won by an average of 21.

The Spurs’ winning streak is the longest active in the NBA, with the Los Angeles Clippers’ franchise-record 17-gamer ending Tuesday night in Denver.

Even with the Clippers’ historic hot streak, the Spurs have played well enough to remain a game behind them for the Western Conference’s best record.

If nothing else, it is apparent that the Spurs’ 1-4 stretch that directly preceded their winning streak was only a blip on the radar.

“In 82 games, that’s going to happen more than one time,” guard Manu Ginobili said. “We’ve just got to keep playing, focus on the next game, try to stay healthy of course, and play well.”

After a road heavy first month and a half of the season, the Spurs used the sweep of a four-game homestand from Dec. 21-28 to recalibrate.

“We had a rough schedule in November, beginning of December,” point guard Tony Parker said. “We had a lot of games on the road. That home stretch around Christmas helped us get our groove back. Right now, we’re playing great basketball.”

Adios to 2012: Before embarking on a new calendar year, Ginobili took time to reflect on a rollercoaster 2012, in which the Spurs seemed poised to return to the NBA Finals before flaming out against Oklahoma City and his Argentine national team finished out of a medal at the London Olympics.

“It was great, with a bad finish,” was Ginobili’s assessment.

Despite the disappointment, Ginobili said he was at peace with how the year went down.

“I’m 35,” he said. “At 23, you take things differently. You win, you’re the best. Nobody can beat you. You lose, you are the worst, and you get down on yourself.

“When you are 34, 35, you’ve been up and down. Mentally, you have a more constant approach, and you can relax a little bit.”